Realty Income, an S&P 500-listed investor, has acquired the freehold interest in a Lidl store at Redditch in a £6.497 million deal with Woodbourne Group.
The supermarket opened in July 2022 following a major redevelopment of the Battens Drive site by Woodbourne Group, creating around 40 new jobs.
Prior to the redevelopment, Birmingham-based Woodbourne Group had acquired the former Arrow Valley Health Club — a two-storey, 21,000 sq ft gym on a 1.70-acre site — and subsequently entered into a 25-year lease agreement with Lidl UK GmbH.
Woodbourne Group chief executive Tani Dulay said: “The deal with Realty Income is a testament to our ability to acquire underperforming assets and create institutional-grade stock that investors can trust, even under challenging market conditions.
“It is also a great result for the region, showing that major investors recognise the opportunities offered by property developments and investments in Birmingham and across the West Midlands.”
Woodbourne Group acquired the long-leasehold interest of the Battens Drive site unconditionally, without borrowing, and completed within five working days from exchange of contracts. Skilful acquisition was then required for the sublease and freehold interest, allowing development without any legal impediment. This demanded a deep understanding of practical needs and concerns of a site fraught with risk.
Woodbourne Group is an investment and development group that exploits potential across all aspects of real estate through creative flair and entrepreneurial vision. Driven to reinforce Birmingham’s position as a leading sustainable city, its projects continue to regenerate the city and attract both cultural and business investment. The Group is currently behind the world’s first mixed-use and net zero carbon ready masterplan. Woodbourne Group is facing the sustainability challenge head on, creating people and planet-centred developments that unlock economic opportunities without costing the earth.
Realty Income Corporation, known as “The Monthly Dividend Company®,” is an S&P 500 company dedicated to providing shareholders with dependable monthly dividends that increase over time. Founded in 1969, the company has built a diversified portfolio of over 15,450 commercial properties across all 50 US states, the United Kingdom and six other European countries.
Woodbourne Group was represented by Sam Bhachu of Eversheds Sutherland LLP in the off-market deal.
